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Arts, Enterprise and Development (MA)

Explore our Creative and Media Enterprises taught Master's degree.

This course examines how we use culture as a force for human, social and economic progress. Warwick's Centre for Cultural and Media Policy has expertly designed this programme to focus on ideas, critical thinking and research while enhancing your professional skills.


Course overview

This programme will give you the opportunity to explore the use of the arts and cultural approaches to local and global development challenges. It examines the impact of arts and culture in a range of contexts in ‘advanced’ and ‘developing’ countries, including post-communist societies, religious republics and conflict zones, and in small-scale local economies.

You will consider the rights and wrongs of using arts and culture within such contexts and explore how they can be used to further social justice as well as economic growth. You will develop your vocational direction and capacity for active involvement in development projects.


General entry requirements

Minimum requirements

2:i undergraduate degree (or equivalent) in a related subject


English language requirements

You can find out more about our English language requirementsLink opens in a new window. This course requires the following:

  • Band B
  • IELTS overall score of 7.0, minimum component scores of two at 6.0/6.5 and the rest at 7.0 or above.

International qualifications

We welcome applications from students with other internationally recognised qualifications.

For more information, please visit the international entry requirements pageLink opens in a new window.


Additional requirements

There are no additional entry requirements for this course, however we may ask you to write a short essay, attend an interview, or respond to a set of questions to satisfy the course selection panel of your suitability for the course.

Core modules

Culture in Development

This module examines the global policy frameworks for culture, arts and development: the ideas, aspirations, ethics and policy strategies for using the arts, culture and creative industries within human, social and urban development.

We will explore the place of culture, art and creative enterprise within the global discourses of Sustainable Development. We will assess how development projects have always had a ‘cultural’ dimension, whether this has been acknowledged or not. We use case studies to look at how global ideas and policies are interpreted "on the ground" — using business enterprise, arts curating and administration, project management and political protest.

Arts, Community and Enterprise

The core module Arts, Community and Enterprise considers the global policy contexts of the arts and culture in International Development. In this module we will focus on practice and local realities. How does enterprise work? What is creativity in practice?

To do this the module will tackle the questions of why have arts enterprise and culture been proposed as a solution to ‘development’ problems? What does this type of creativity offer that mainstream development strategy does not? What can the creative economy do that the mainstream economy cannot?

We will explore what creative/arts and/or cultural models of development have to offer whilst examining the limitations of the theories, policies and practices. The central purpose of this module then is to critically explore the tensions and contradictions in the use of economic models, models of business enterprise and entrepreneurialism for social, local and community development. You will be encouraged to develop both your theoretical knowledge and practical skills in order to understand the complexities involved with engaging the arts in community development problems.

Project Management for Cultural Enterprise

In this module, the student group will engage in collaborative practical work and 'apply' the theoretical or academic learning of the MA course. The subject of this module is Project Management (PM) as an established range of methods and tools, but here applied to a cultural event. The event will be situated either on the Warwick campus or the City of Coventry, and will afford the students a practical opportunity in (a) devising a PM methodology appropriate to the cultural industries (a creative process as well as experience), and (b) learning the skills required to apply their methodology — reflexively and in dialogue with a tutor(s), who will open the module with a series of coordinated lectures and seminars on PM and the challenges of cultural enterprise.

Research Design

This module aims to prepare you for your Major Project, which is a substantial piece of independent research on a topic of your choice. The module will equip you with a broad understanding of relevant research methods from which to select an appropriate approach for your own project. It will introduce you to ethical dimensions of research. It will provide you with the skills to write an effective proposal (including research questions, rationale, explanation and justification of research methods, identifying relevant literature and data sources).

By the end of the module, you should be ready to submit your proposal and have a broad understanding of research methods in the cultural, creative and media industries field.

Plus the following:

Major Project

The Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies is an interdisciplinary centre for teaching and research in the fields of cultural and media policy and the creative industries. The commitment to interdisciplinarity is reflected in our Major Projects, where you will be encouraged to draw on approaches from across the humanities and social sciences in producing your work. Successful projects can emerge from creative engagement with scholarly debates, from the design and analysis of original empirical work, or from some combination of these. This openness of approach is also reflected in how Major Project research can be represented.


Optional modules

Optional modules can vary from year to year. Example optional modules may include:

  • Cultural Entrepreneurship
  • Developing Audiences for Cultural Organisations
  • Marketing and Markets
  • Media, Policy and Markets
  • Managing Creativity for Sustainable Development

All students will take one optional module. There are four core modules, one of which is a course specific applied management module. The bespoke applied management module for this MA is called ‘Project Management for Cultural Enterprise’ (see above), which gives you the opportunity to apply your learning in practice- or industry-related contexts.

Read more about the MA in Arts, Enterprise and Development on the Centre's website.Link opens in a new window

Teaching

You will learn in an international environment through interaction with academic experts and industry practitioners.

The core modules are taught through a combination of lectures, workshops and student-led presentations and discussions. These sessions are complemented by self-directed learning and access to resources and activities in a virtual learning environment.

The course is designed to facilitate participation and critical reflection and in some modules you will have the opportunity to apply your learning in a professional context.


Class sizes

There are between 20 to 30 students on each of the four taught Master's courses.


Typical contact hours

Typical contact hours range between 6 to 10 hours each week for core teaching - this excludes additional tutorials, workshops, and research seminars.


Assessment

  • All coursework
  • Written assignments come in a variety of forms: essays, case studies, evaluations, reports, proposals, portfolios and business plans
  • Group presentations and creative and practical projects
  • A major project (written dissertation of 12,000 words) on a research topic of your choice

Additional course costs

For all MA courses, the cost of field trips or off-campus assignments are estimated to cost between £100-£200, although this will depend on which option module has been chosen or the nature of a project or placement undertaken for an applied management module.


Reading lists

Most departments have reading lists available through Warwick Library. Explore our Warwick Library web pages.Link opens in a new window


Your timetable

Your personalised timetable will be complete when you are registered for all modules, compulsory and optional, and you have been allocated to your lecture, seminar and other study groups. Your compulsory modules will be registered for you, and you will be able to choose your optional module when you join us.

Your career

Graduates from the Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies have gone on to work in television, film, communications, data analysis, theatre, museums, art galleries, events, festivals, UN agencies, NGOs, charities, arts and educational organisations, research, PR, publishing and have even set up their own businesses.

Employers for our graduates include: UNESCO, UNCTAD, BBC, UK government, local arts in Coventry, Birmingham and London, and around the world, city government, and start-up creative enterprises.

We have a dedicated professionally qualified Senior Careers Consultant offering impartial advice and guidance together with workshops and events throughout the year. Previous examples of workshops and events include:

  • Discovering Careers in the Creative Industries
  • Careers in Radio Film and Television
  • Warwick careers fairs throughout the year
  • A history and DIY Guide to setting up and running a Theatre Company

Centre for Cultural and Media Policy Studies

We are internationally renowned for our excellence in the teaching and research in the policy, management, development, enterprise and industry of culture, media communication and creativity. Our approach is based on a critical engagement with both the practical realities of working in the cultural sector and the ideological and conceptual questions which lie behind them.

Find out more about us on our website.Link opens in a new window


Our Postgraduate Taught and Research courses

Tuition fees

Tuition fees are payable for each year of your course at the start of the academic year, or at the start of your course, if later. Academic fees cover the cost of tuition, examinations and registration and some student amenities.

Taught course fees  Research course fees


Fee Status Guidance

The University carries out an initial fee status assessment based on information provided in the application and according to the guidance published by UKCISA. Students are classified as either Home or Overseas Fee status and this can determine the tuition fee and eligibility of certain scholarships and financial support.

If you receive an offer, your fee status will be stated with the tuition fee information, however we are awaiting guidance from the UK government regarding fee status for EU, other EEA and Swiss nationals and their family members living in the UK for academic year 2021/22 onwards. We are not able to confirm the fee status for these students until the relevant eligibility criteria have been confirmed. Once we have received further information from the UK government, we will provide you with an update on your fee status and let you know if any additional information is required. If you believe your fee status has been incorrectly classified you can complete a fee status assessment questionnaire (follow the instructions in your offer) and provide the required documentation for this to be reassessed.

The UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) provides guidance to UK universities on fees status criteria, you can find the latest guidance on the impact of Brexit on fees and student support on the UKCISA website.


Additional course costs

Please contact your academic department for information about department specific costs, which should be considered in conjunction with the more general costs below, such as:

  • Core text books
  • Printer credits
  • Dissertation binding
  • Robe hire for your degree ceremony

Scholarships and bursaries

Scholarships and financial support

Find out about the different funding routes available, including; postgraduate loans, scholarships, fee awards and academic department bursaries.

Living costs

Find out more about the cost of living as a postgraduate student at the University of Warwick.

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Taught course applications

Here is our checklist on how to apply for taught postgraduate courses at Warwick.

Research course applications

Here is our checklist on how to apply for research postgraduate degrees at the University of Warwick.

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